This invention relates to an improved integrated back support and bed for preventing additional injury to accident victims during transportation to the hospital, examination, initial therapy and surgery at the hospital, and rehabilitation.
A wide variety of devices have been known in the art for quite some time that attempt to maintain spinal stability in spinal trauma patients before, during and after definitive treatment or surgery. For example, patient beds are known that rotate to provide access in examination of the patient and nursing care. Examples of such rotating patient beds are disclosed in Hogan, Stryker, Keane, Vezina, Viamonte, Jr., and Leininger et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,690,177; 3,302,218; 3,434,165; 3,655,178; 3,778,049; and 4,175,550 respectively.
Patient treatment beds are also known in the art that are more or less radiographically transparent such as disclosed in Kok, Franke et al., Williams, Chapa, Hopper et al., Cooper et al., Mirabella, Jelsma et al., Moore et al., and Saussereau, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,449,570; 3,631,241; 3,631,242; 3,814,414; 3,818,516; 3,947,686; 4,262,204; 4,566,445; 4,718,077; and 4,779,858 respectively.
Although knowledge, diagnostics, and treatment have progressed at an astronomical rate, the means of providing interim spinal stability has not changed significantly in the past forty years. Standard spinal cord injury management, known in the art, requires that the patient be placed on a rigid backboard at the scene of the injury for transportation to the nearest trauma center that has facilities for scanning, treating, managing, and operating on these patients. Due to the current backboard's physical shape and material composition, the patient cannot long remain on the board during the early, and most critical stages of care. Throughout the diagnostic and early treatment phases, the care givers must manually manipulate (i.e. lift, scoot, and turn) the patient between and during each procedure. If the patient has cervical traction via suspended weights, the weights must be removed and an estimated amount of manual traction applied while transporting the patient to and from the intensive care unit (ICU) as well as during the diagnostic procedure.
Drawbacks to the patient beds known in the art are that patients may not comfortably or safely be left on the boards very long without acquiring beds sores, there is no provision in the prior art boards for access to the patient for diagnosis and waste removal, there is no ability for rotating patients safely front to back, and there is no means for providing traction on or off the patient bed. Thus, there is a need in the art for providing an integrated back support and bed which enables diagnosis, particularly radiological, and waste removal, which enables use for extended periods of time on the bed without creating sores, which is maneuverable front to back and which supports the patient front and back, and which incorporates a strain gauge and weightless traction device for providing traction on or off the bed. It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an improved integrated back support and bed apparatus for preventing additional injury to accident victims, for providing comfortable support front and back, for allowing movement and diagnosis front and back, for providing weightless traction on or off the bed frame and, for facilitating nursing care and treatment, including surgery.